|
|
October 16, 2009
Singing is the show's real star
The Thing About Men is a fun play but it needs a slight rewrite.
BAILA LAZARUS
It was all going so well for the Art Club's latest production, the rather predictable, but still tons-of-fun The Thing About Men. The Thing is a musical take on that not-so-tragic love triangle of man-cheats-on-wife, lots; wife-cheats-on-husband, once. But here, it's man-leaves-wife-moves-in-with-wife's-lover.
It's funny, it's silly, it's witty and has some cut-close-to-the-bone insights: "A hickey, Tom? How could it be true? How could she be as unfaithful as you?" sets the tone of this latest look at how men get themselves in undesirable situations and what they do to set things right.
That line, interestingly, is sung by a male-female duo that makes up a sort of Greek chorus that opens the show. They narrate, make comments, participate in scenes and generally become a bit annoying. (So when one of the main character tells a member of this Greek chorus to shut up, it seems everyone in the audience is pleased.)
The Thing's story line is pretty standard – Tom (Stephen Aberle) is a "bread-winning, ass-kicking, Porsche-driving, wife-loving, home-owning, lawn-mowing" man who's very much part of the corporate world. He's had several random affairs. His wife of 15 years, Lucy (Annabel Kershaw), knows about them and puts up with him ... until she meets Sebastian (Jonathan Holmes).
Sebastian is the anti-husband. Though he's the same age as Tom, he's a "free, easy guy," an artist with good hair and a way to woo women. When he first sees Lucy, he's on his way to a job interview at an ad agency (which turns out to be Tom's firm). Lucy, on her way out the building, has been crying. Sebastian is struck by her vulnerability and they start up an affair. She's been seeing Sebastian for five weeks when Tom finds out.
"He looks at me," Lucy laments to Tom, before he leaves her.
"I need something more."
Despite the fact that Tom has had his fair share of indiscretions, he feels betrayed and sets out with his suitcase.
If this sounds like over-the-top clichΘ, you're right, and each line is more predictable than the previous, adding to the play's cheekiness, until Tom meets Sebastian. It's almost as though lyricist Joe DiPietro is saying, "We know you know the story, yadda yadda, let's get to the good part."
Sebastian lives in a "bohemian slum" of a loft and hasn't sold a painting in three years. He takes Tom in because he needs someone to help him pay the rent. Tom moves in with Sebastian in order to keep an eye on him and keep him as far away from Lucy as possible.
Despite Tom's efforts, Sebastian falls in love with Lucy. When it looks like Lucy feels the same, Tom decides to help Sebastian get a "real" job so he can take care of Lucy. He trains him to become a graphic designer and gets him a job at a high-end ad agency.
At this point, I'm sure I wasn't alone in the audience thinking this was yet another scheme by Tom to separate the lovebirds. After all, it was clear that Lucy likes Sebastian because he's not corporate; he's unfettered, free-spirited, an artiste – just like Tom once was. If Sebastian becomes just another "suit" like her husband, her interest will surely wane.
And this is where the play needed an editor to come along and say, "This isn't going to work. Having Tom think he can help Sebastian by giving him a corporate makeover is just not going to fly." And it doesn't. When Tom says to himself, "Maybe she really just wanted a free, easy guy," you can almost hear the audience go, "Well, duh!"
Of the characters, the two male leads stand out for their singing. In fact, I'd say, despite a few off-note moments by Lucy (Kershaw), the singing was the star of this production. The chorus (Mike Kovac and Erin Palm) had amazing voices and they were fantastic in each of their numerous roles. All in all, The Thing is a fun way to spend an evening.
The Thing is an Arts Club Theatre touring production, with performances around the Lower Mainland, until Nov. 7. Visit artsclub.com and click on "shows/touring" for more information.
Baila Lazarus is a freelance writer, painter and photographer. Her work can be seen at orchiddesigns.net.
^TOP
|
|
